ETYMOLOGYfrom half + marrow, of obscure origin.(From E-NED: The localities would seem to point to a Scandinavian etymology, but no possible Scandinavian source is known, unless indeed the sense of the Eng. n. can have been developed from that of ON. marg-r (lit. ‘many’) friendly, communicative. Phonologically this etymon would be admissible, as the word occurs so late that the absence of recorded forms with guttural causes no difficulty.)